Pyongyang, August 4 (KCNA) -- The south Korean newspaper Hangyore on July 31 carried an editorial denouncing Japan for concealing data related to plunder of cultural artifacts by the Japanese imperialists.

It is estimated that the cultural artifacts Japan took away during its colonial rule over Korea number hundreds of thousands of pieces, when including those whisked away by individuals, the editorial said, and went on:

It was recently disclosed during a trial that the Japanese government has kept it in secrecy.

When a Japanese civic organization submitted a document of litigation demanding the disclosure of cultural artifacts, the then Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that they included a list of artifacts of which the south Korean "government" had not been informed and it might demand for their return in case of disclosure of them.

This means that Japan actually knew everything although it made such excuses that it did not know how they made their way to Japan whenever south Korea demanded the return of those cultural artifacts.

As the Japanese government admitted the fact that it concealed the list of cultural artifacts so as not to return them, the south Korean authorities should strongly demand the disclosure of the data related to the plunder of them and actively come out to take them back, the editorial stressed.